This delicious dessert is flavoured with a vanilla pod and speckled generously with fresh, jewel-like raspberries.
Serves 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Standing time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
Chilling time: 4 hours
You will need:
- 1 vanilla pod
- 600ml/1 pint double cream
- 6 egg yolks
- 75g/3oz caster sugar
- 300g/11oz raspberries
Topping:
- 6 tablespoons caster sugar
- Slit the vanilla pod along its length, scrape out the black seeds from the inside with a small knife and place in a medium saucepan with the cream and bring just to the boil.
- Take off the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
- Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until creamy.
- Remove the vanilla pod from the cream and discard then bring the cream to the boil once more.
- Gradually mix into the egg yolks until smooth.
- Divide the raspberries between six x, 250ml/8fl oz, shallow ovenproof dishes with a diameter of 11.5cm/4 ½ inches and a depth of 2.5cm/1inch then stand the dishes in a roasting tin.
- Strain the vanilla cream over the top.
- Pour warm water into the roasting tin to come halfway up the sides of the dishes then bake the custards, uncovered in a pre-heated oven set to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3 for 25-30 minutes or until just set in the centre with a slight wobble.
- Lift dishes out of the roasting tin.
- Cool then transfer to the fridge for at least four hours.
- Sprinkle the tops with the remaining sugar and caramelize with a cook’s blow torch.
- Leave to stand for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.
Tip:
- If you don’t have a cook’s blow torch, put the dishes in the base of the grill pan, surround the dishes with ice and cook under a preheated grill with the tops of the dishes near the heat until golden.
- Put back in the fridge until ready to serve.
